In the U.S., bread, cereal and other enriched flour products have been fortified with folic acid (the synthetic form of the vitamin folate) since 1998.
Folic acid supplements have been linked with lowering blood levels of homocysteine, and high levels of homocysteine have been associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), so it has been thought that taking folic acid might decrease the incidence of events such as heart attack and stroke.
